STEP ONE: Use a tripod or get still.
2. Shoot really fast
(continuous mode) onto a really fast card (I use 250 mb/s SD cards or cf express)
3. Sync Your Edit
all of the individual images should be edited the same by syncing your lightroom edits across them.
4. Export and rename them in a sequence (photo1.jpg, photo2.jpg, photo.jpg,etc)
5. Make a GIF
For a .gif, You have a few options to put the images into a gif. There are online gif makers if you are lazy. Your computer’s video maker software can probably do it too, if you don’t want to mess with photoshop.
I make gifs in Photoshop like this…
1. Import your series of photos
Open Photoshop and go to File > Scripts > Load Files into Stack.
Click Browse and locate the photos you want to use. While holding down the Shift key, select all the files and click Open.
Then, sort by name(We exported them in order, so this will make sure your images load in the correct order).
Choose whether you want the images aligned for you or not, and import.
2. Open the Timeline
Go to Window > Timeline to open the Timeline panel.
Click the arrow on the button in the middle of the panel and select Create Frame Animation. Then click the button to create a new frame animation.
3. Convert layers into animation frames
Click the menu icon from the upper right corner of the Timeline panel. Click Make Frames From Layers.
This will convert all the layers in the Layers panel into individual frames in your animation.
Click the Play button from the bottom of the Timeline panel (or press the Spacebar on your keyboard) to preview the animation.
Note: If your animation is playing in reverse, click the Timeline menu icon again and select Reverse Frames.
If your gif is too fast, highlight all of the images in the timeline, and click the little ^ Icon next to where it says “0 sec”, and change the time between each frame. I usually use .12 second-.15 seconds depending on the movement in the image.
Click the Play button from the bottom of the Timeline panel (or press the Spacebar on your keyboard) to preview the animation again and adjust the timing and crop if needed.
4. Export as a .gif or an mp4
You can export the animation as a .gif file (This is best for having play on your website or blog, or continually repeating on facebook or messaging apps) or export the animation as a video (mp4 file), which will play easily on instagram.
To Export the animation as a GIF
Go to File > Export > Save for Web (Legacy)…
- Select GIF 128 Dithered from the Preset menu.
- Select 256 from the Colors menu.
- If you are using the GIF online or want to limit the file size of the animation, change Width and Height fields in the Image Size options.
- Select Forever from the Looping Options menu.
Click the Preview… button in the lower left corner of the Export window to preview your GIF in a web browser.
Click Save… and select a destination for your animated GIF file.
To Export the “GIF” animation as a Video (mp4) File
This is what I do to ensure my clients can easily play it and share it on instagram.
In photoshop just click File > Export > Render Video
Need more guidance? My Youtube Channel will walk you through!
